Psychiatric genetics in South Africa: cutting a rough diamond

Psychiatric disorders place a considerable healthcare burden on South African society. Incorporating genetic technologies into future treatment plans offers a potential mechanism to reduce this burden. This review focuses on psychiatric genetic research that has been performed in South African populations with regards to obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Preliminary findings from these studies suggest that data obtained in developed countries cannot necessarily be extrapolated to South African population groups. Psychiatric genetic studies in South Africa seem to involve relatively low-cost methodologies and only a limited number of large national collaborative studies. Future research in South Africa should therefore aim to incorporate highthroughput technologies into large scale psychiatric studies through the development of collaborations. On a global level, the vast majority of psychiatric genetic studies have been performed in non-African populations. South Africa, as the leading contributor to scientific research in Africa, may provide a foundation for addressing this disparity and strengthening psychiatric genetic research on the continent. Although the elucidation of the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders has proved challenging, examining the unique genetic profiles found in South African populations could provide valuable insight into the genetics of psychiatric disorders.Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Pharmacogenetics; Psychiatric genetics; Schizophrenia; South African population

Applicability and fairness of the oral examination in undergraduate psychiatry training in South Africa

Objective: There are several methods of evaluating medical students’ performance, such as written examination, oral examination and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Many studies have focused on the reliability and validity of these methods but few studies have explored comparison between these methods. Psychiatry is the only subject at the University of Stellenbosch where the final assessment consists of solely an oral component. The aim of the study was to compare students’ final overall and discipline specific examination marks (i.e. in the other subjects) with the examination marks in psychiatry, and to determine if content or structure (e,g. oral, written or OSCE format) of examination impacts more on the student performance in the examination. Method: 343 final year medical students were included. All undertook their psychiatry rotation at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa during 2008 and 2009. Data of marks obtained in all the disciplines during 2008 and 2009 were collected and class marks were compared with their final examination marks across all disciplines. Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the level of agreement between the class and examination marks. Cases below the lower threshold were compared to all other cases across all disciplines. The odds ratio for group status was calculated for gender distribution of examiners. Results: The psychiatry class mark and final oral examination mark provided similar measures within a width of 31.5. Cases below the threshold had poorer performance in two other disciplines. The gender distribution of the examiners (female-female) significantly increased the odds ratio for poorer performance in the oral examination.Conclusion: The results suggest that a group of students underperform in their final examination independent of method of evaluation and that the gender of examiners impacts on examination marks. Therefore future research should focus on identifying and modifying factors (including choice of examiner combinations) that contribute to the poor performance of medical students in their final examination, in order to help students perform better. Gender distribution of examiners should also be considered when examinations are structured and designed.Keywords: Oral; Medical; Student; Gender; Examiner; Performance; OSC

Neurological soft signs as an endophenotype in an African schizophrenia population – a pilot study

Objective: The use of endophenotypes, such as neurological soft signs (NSS), is advocated as one possible method to elucidate the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. Exploring the associations between NSS and specific illness symptoms has revealed some trends, although results have been conflicting. To date, such studies have been conducted largely on Caucasian populations and our pilot study represents the first attempt to gather such data in a homogenous African population. Method: Fifty-one patients, all of Xhosa ethnicity and participating in a larger schizophrenia genetic study were recruited. NSS were evaluated using a modified Neurological Evaluation Scale. Data were analysed using SPSS with the strength of the overall relationships between NES groups and SANS and SAPS components analyzed by means of canonical correlation analysis. Results: The canonical correlation of SANS domains (excluding asociality) with the NES conceptual groups was 0.53 (SE=0.11, p=0.024) and of the SAPS domains 0.38 (SE=0.13, p=0.943). Conclusion: Our results suggest a correlation between negative symptoms of schizophrenia and the presence of NSS, supporting the recruitment of a larger sample to more comprehensively evaluate a possible role for NSS as an endophenotype in the Xhosa schizophrenia population. Taking into account that NSS evaluations allow for inexpensive, relatively easy-to-do objective evaluations, this method presents us with a valuable research tool that can be used effectively within our under-resourced environment to help inform on the neurobiological substrate of schizophrenia.Keywords: Schizophrenia; Endophenotype; Neurological Soft Sign

Does the gender of examiners determine the academic performance of medical students?

Geneeskunde en GesondheidswetenskappePsigiatriePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Facial affect recognition and medical students

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A prospective randomized controlled trial of paliperidone ER versus oral olanzapine in patients with schizophrenia

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Stereotypes: Prevalence and association with compulsive and impulsive symptoms in college students.

GesondheidswetenskappePsigiatriePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

A role for structural equation modelling in subtyping schizophrenia in an African population

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Correlation of non-verbal communication skills with academic performance in the late rotation psychiatry module: sub-study-comparison of written examination marks with oral examination marks

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